The Unbent Flower (2)
"Mmmuuuuuuhh...!"
Tia's whine rang through the tavern.
Her voice dripped with grievance, but the little mouth that kept munching away at cookies told a very different story.
By now the table was already piled high with cookies the customers had bought for her, every one of them earned the moment Tia's mood turned sour.
"Tia wanted to go with Mommy too..."
Yulia had said she was stepping out to take care of some work nearby.
But Tia saw through the lie in an instant.
Nobody dolling up their hair and putting on makeup the way she never usually did is going off to run a quick errand nearby.
Besides, word had already reached her through the customers that Yulia would be attending some enormous party.
"Ease up on those. If Yulia finds out you ate this many cookies, she'll be furious."
"Sasha. You'll keep it a secret... won't you?"
"Urk."
The moment Tia's eyes began to sparkle, Sasha found herself turning her gaze away.
No one alive could defy Tia's ultimate technique.
With the sole exception of Yulia, that heartless monster.
"Mmmuh. Omnomnom..."
Savoring her mother's absence, Tia shoveled sugar-loaded cookies into her mouth several at a time.
It was a sight that would have made Yulia recoil in horror.
It was a kind of tantrum, and yet it didn't make her feel any better.
She simply wished her mother would come home soon—she'd happily throw away every last one of these worthless cookies.
"Where's Irina Imo?"
"Auntie's busy today. She can't seem to find any time to come see you. Hey, Tia—how come you don't call her 'Iwina' anymore?"
"Mmuu! That was because Tia couldn't say it propewly! Tia can say 'Iwina' just fine now!"
"Then why do you still call me 'Sasha' instead of 'Sasha'? Hmm?"
"Dunno. Sasha is just Sasha."
"......"
A faint smile settled on Sasha's lips.
Being called by a pet name that belonged to Tia alone made her feel like she'd become someone special.
"Aren't you going to work, Sasha?"
"Mm, nope. Nobody's been asking for me."
"How come?"
"W-well... because I'm not popular..."
With a bitter smile, Sasha let her head droop.
She'd often entertained the thought of snapping off that long horn jutting from her forehead.
It was so large and distinctive that its one saving grace, she'd always told herself, was that nobody mistook it for a demon's horn.
But watching Tia—horns on full display, yet gathering every ounce of love around her—made Sasha hate her own horn more and more.
As Sasha's expression slowly darkened, Tia, flustered, dropped the cookie bag she was holding and ran over to throw her arms around her in a tight hug.
"Mhehe. Tia wuvs Sasha."
"Do you? I love you too, Tia..."
"Tia wuvs Sasha best, after Mama."
"Really?"
"Mm-hm."
It came as something of a surprise.
That she ranked ahead of even Irina or the Master.
Deeply moved, Sasha gently stroked the back of the little girl nestled in her arms.
It was probably just Tia's way of sweet-talking her, but that was all right.
Having Tia comfort her was more than enough to lift her spirits.
"Do you think Mama's doing okay right now...?"
"Worried?"
"Mmuu. Mama's a coward who can't do anything if Tia doesn't hug her. And a crybaby, too."
"Hmm..."
That was unexpected.
Of course, everyone knew Yulia's mental state was somewhat fragile.
But the common assessment of Yulia was of a woman who was beautiful, diligent, responsible, and good-natured, yet who also knew how to push back against injustice now and then.
People say such spirit ought to be tamed, but Yulia carried a fiery charm that Sasha never wanted to see broken.
A person like that was bound to succeed at whatever she set out to do, wherever she went.
So long as her spirit remained unbent.
Now I'm a little curious...
What would Yulia look like if her heart were ever broken so thoroughly that she could never rise again?
Would that cowardly, tearful side—the one only Tia ever saw—become who she was all the time?
Just a little. Just the tiniest bit curious.
If the chance ever came, she wouldn't mind seeing it once.
"Oh, right, Tia. Huh? Eh? Ah?"
"......"
When Sasha finally surfaced from her long spiral of self-loathing, she realized Tia was gone.
In her place stood the back door—which had been firmly shut mere moments ago—hanging wide open.
Sasha belatedly pieced together the situation and sprang to her feet.
Code red.
***
The day of the party arrived before I knew it.
I wasn't attending in any grand capacity, and I had no particular goal to accomplish there, but there was no helping the nerves.
High nobility, they said—it felt like meeting people who lived in an entirely different world...
Even for me, someone who'd come from a world where the class system had been abolished, this was how it felt. What must it be like for the people who lived here?
As far as they were concerned, nobles might as well have been an entirely different species.
"Whoa~aa. Pretty, so pretty!"
"......"
Before heading to the party, I'd decided to stop by Anna's house first to pick up the dress.
When I put it on and looked in the mirror, my face filled with dissatisfaction.
"Um... the alterations I asked for yesterday. They all seem to be exactly as they were."
"Hehehe. You're asking me to undo every one of her charming points. How could I possibly honor such a request?"
"......"
The waist is cinched too tight, the chest is too suffocating, please make the skirt a little longer, and so on...
Yesterday, when I'd tried it on and listed my complaints, she'd acted like she'd fix every last one. Today I put it back on and nothing had changed.
Ah. The hem actually seemed to have gotten shorter, if anything.
"Fix your face. Frown like that and the seams that would never come undone will come undone."
"I... I don't want to go to the party anymore."
"You did want to go, though?"
"......"
I was at a loss for words.
While I stood there clutching the hem of my skirt, Anna came up from behind and wrapped her arms around me.
"Sometimes you have to do the things you don't want to do. Since you're going anyway, why not enjoy yourself?"
"Right... enjoy myself..."
Something felt off.
Meeting new people had always been one of my favorite things.
Me—the person who used to go absolutely feral for parties and club nights—now afraid of meeting people?
They say your personality can change over a lifetime. Apparently that was true.
"Thank you, Anna. I should get going."
"I'll pray nothing goes wrong. Oh, and—his payment still hasn't come through. Could you ask Leopard when he plans to pay up?"
"S-sure. If I see him, I'll ask."
"Please do. This would already be the fifth tab he's run up."
"......"
Suddenly terrified, I hurried out of Anna's house.
If someone's gone five tabs deep without paying, isn't that not a tab anymore but straight-up theft...?
It was a wonder she was still taking his orders at all.
So this is what love does to a person.
Come to think of it... is Anna a lesbian too?
After all, Leopard was a woman.
But if she fell for him believing he was a man, and then kept loving him even after learning she was a woman—did that really count as being a lesbian?
Had the inclination been there from the start, or did she simply love the person, regardless of gender?
The more I thought about it, the more tangled my head became.
I decided on a tentative conclusion: Anna had probably been gay from the very beginning—she was the only one who didn't know it.
"Whoa..."
I hadn't even arrived yet, and I could already tell roughly where the Dragonia Villa was.
The road a good distance away was already packed with carriages discharging their passengers.
As I walked toward the villa through the flow of people, my confidence seemed to slowly recharge.
There wasn't a single woman around as pretty as me.
...No, wait, was that really something to be drawing confidence from?
I got flustered all over again.
Everyone has a man at their side, huh?
Looking around, I noticed all the other women had a man hanging off their right arm.
I felt a faint emptiness at my side.
Not that I wanted to walk arm-in-arm with a man, absolutely not.
I was simply afraid of standing out, being the only one alone.
Really. Truly.
I shook off the stray thoughts and hurried along until I reached the main gate.
Standing there blankly staring into space, I was approached by someone who looked like a butler, and when I followed him, he let me in through a staff-only entrance.
"You are not to speak unless a guest addresses you first. You are not to stray more than three steps from your designated position. You are to maintain proper posture at all times. If there is anything you do not understand, observe the other maids and learn from them. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes..."
I'm, uh, pretty sure I haven't actually been hired yet.
I'd come expecting to be introduced around, and I was already being treated as this household's maid.
Apparently the matter of my employment had been settled long before any introduction.
That was how much pull the Hero commanded, I supposed.
Judging by how the butler's expression curdled every time he looked at me, he clearly took me for a nepotism hire.
And he wouldn't have been wrong.
"Make way for Marquis Dragonia."
Tucked away in a corner, I was left entirely alone until the party got into full swing.
It was only natural, really—I wasn't serving any food or drink, I wasn't even in a maid's uniform, and I certainly wasn't wearing anything glitzy enough to pass for aristocratic couture.
Once the party ended, would I formally meet the butler and the marquis to negotiate my wages?
All throughout the party, I told myself I was being tested—being watched to see whether I would cause any trouble.
That is, until the unexpected happened.
"Pardon me, miss. Might I have your name?"
"Yes?"
A deep, dignified voice sounded abruptly at my side and startled me out of my skin.
When I finally turned my head, I found a tall, striking man standing before me.
Only when I saw the gazes of the nobles lined up behind him all fixed on me did I grasp what was happening.
The man in front of me was none other than Marquis Dragonia himself.
"Ah... um... that is..."
What had I answered back then, again?
From the moment I became conscious of all those eyes on me, my vision narrowed, my head spun, and everything descended into chaos.
After that, I was so utterly beside myself that hardly any memory remains.
But there is one thing I remember with perfect clarity.
I don't much care to recall it, but if I must dredge it up and put it into a single sentence...
That day, I was raped.